Arizona Chickens

[EmmaDonovan]

I emailed the picture of the 4 chick's to the lady down by Tucson that is doing a hatch from her flock of Bielefelder's and she sent me back an answer:

All I see are females, you lucky duck! Glad they worked out for you

I’ve got your eggs in the incubator with a projected hatch day of December 5. I’ll shoot you an email when the hatch starts.

Best,
Erin

I wonder if she's the same person who sells American Bresse and Bielefelder chicks on Tucson Craigslist?

 

[BlueBaby]

I wonder if she's the same person who sells American Bresse and Bielefelder chicks on Tucson Craigslist?

I don't know, but the one that I'm in contact with does have Bielefelder's and Black Copper Maran's. I had to wait for her to separate them into separate flock's to make sure that I'd be getting the pure Bielefelder's from her.

 

[igorsMistress]

We are ready to buy one of these to start our coop but before we do I'm looking for some feedback from my fellow Arizonans:

We decided on this because it's metal and lumber is prohibitively expensive around here. Also, we can disassemble it and take it with us when we move. Metal will also last longer than wood in our desert environment.

As you can see this design needs some alterations to become predator proof. The entire thing will be completely enclosed in 1/4" hardware cloth, including the floor as we have a huge ground squirrel population. We're also adding our own door.

The coop is 6'3" (important to me; I'm 6'1") in the walk-in area. With the extension it'll be a total of 172 sq. ft. for 10-12 chickens. The door faces south, nest boxes are on the north side.

Here are some examples of how we plan to modify it. Please excuse my lousy Sketchup skills; Sketchup and I are mortal enemies.

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Here are more detailed illustrations of the hen house. I'm posting this here instead of in the coop design section because I think it's difficult to understand our crazy climate and needs if you don't live here. I don't mean to insult anyone by that. It's just tough to grasp the combination of 20F - 115F temperature swings, sideways monsoon rains when it's 100F, microbursts, snow, 1% humidity, etc. unless you've lived through it all.

The proportions of the hen house are somewhat constrained by the geometry of the run. It's 6' wide by 4' high and 4' deep. The legs are 1'6". We tried positioning it outside the coop but decided we wanted the weather protection and security of it being inside. Only the nest boxes are outside, for easy egg retrieval.

The silly white rectangles on the sides are my version of soffit vents, the green part in the inside is vinyl flooring for a deep litter system. The ramp is removable.

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We tried to design a hen house that can be opened or closed up in increments, to match the weather and the hens' needs. The bottom door in the front only drops down for deep cleaning. The top/ceiling of the hen house can be removed entirely.

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You will want much more ventilation than that for your coop. When cold, with that many chickens inside, you run the risk of moisture buildup which can cause frostbite. In the heat I imagine it won’t get used if the run is fully enclosed and predator proof. Also, vents for the nest boxes because it’s so hot in the summer. You may also want to consider an option for nest boxes in the run. With 1/4” HWC all around nothing will get in that’s big enough to eat your eggs.

 

[Geckolady]

This thread seems a little quiet. Where did everybody go?

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I've been running around for the past few days trying to find us a turkey for Thanksgiving. Finally found one last night but it's 23 pounds. A 23 pound bird for two people! I have never cooked a turkey that big in my life.

 

[springvalley123]

I've been running around for the past few days trying to find us a turkey for Thanksgiving. Finally found one last night but it's 23 pounds. A 23 pound bird for two people! I have never cooked a turkey that big in my life.

Maybe you should preheat the oven now!

 

[Hermits Garden]

I almost waited too late as well. I did manage to find one at 13 lbs, but still, for two people.

May I suggest you use a really big roaster and cook it verrrry slowly for half the day? I do pork roasts and briskets that I cook at 225 F for almost ten hours (over twelve for the briskets), and it works fine. I put a couple beers in the bottom of the roasting pan, then cover. Not sure if this would apply to turkeys, though.

 

[EmmaDonovan]

That sounds good. I figured I was going to have to get up extra early to get it started anyway.

We've already moved it from the freezer into the fridge so it can start defrosting. I hope it defrosts in time. We might end up having a Friday or Saturday Thanksgiving. I mean that wouldn't be a disaster or anything, it's just me and my housemate and the dogs but it'd still feel weird.

 

[BlueBaby]

I've been running around for the past few days trying to find us a turkey for Thanksgiving. Finally found one last night but it's 23 pounds. A 23 pound bird for two people! I have never cooked a turkey that big in my life.

That's ok. You can make sandwiches out of leftover turkey. You can debone the turkey and even freeze that meat for making something else later, and then use the bone's and part's to make turkey broth for soups.

 

[cavemanrich]

This thread seems a little quiet. Where did everybody go?
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Your hatchling meme looks like a baby turkey,,,, Popped head out,,, seen calendar,, and decided it was not safe.

I've been running around for the past few days trying to find us a turkey for Thanksgiving. Finally found one last night but it's 23 pounds. A 23 pound bird for two people! I have never cooked a turkey that big in my life.

You actually have a few options you can take. Cook whole turkey,, and after you finish dinner, cut portions,,, and freeze. We do this all the time with meals. Then out of the freezer, and dinner instantly ready.

Second option: Cut turkey in half. Freeze half. and cook the other half. I know it may get challenging to cut a frozen turkey in half. It can be done.

Third option; Cook whole turkey,,, and invite additional peeps with hearty appetites.